Big Lottery launches Big Family Idea

The Big Lottery Fund, in conjunction with National Family Week, has launched a new competition called the Big Family Idea, with a cash prize of £150,000.

The initiative, announced as part of a programme of over 2,500 National Family Week events throughout the country, is intended to support the best new ideas to improve family life and encourage the use of ingenuity and creativity to enhance family relations.  Applications will be accepted from a wide range of groups and almost any idea – from a product, to a particular service, event or campaign – will be considered.  Successful applicants will get the chance to discuss their ideas with senior politicians and will receive cash from a funding pot of £150,000 to turn their social dreams into a reality.

The programme has been launched in response to a recent National Family Week survey which found that the majority of British families would like to spend more time together playing games, having meals or doing educational things.

The closing date for applications is 31 July 2009.

For further information visit:

http://www.nationalfamilyweek.co.uk/view.The-Big-Family-Idea

Source:  BLF

New funds for Social Investment Bank?

According to NCVO chief executive, Stuart Etherington, speaking this week at the AGM of social lender, Charity Bank, money repaid to the Futurebuilders England loan fund should be ploughed back into the voluntary and charity sector through the establishment of a social investment bank.

The idea of a social investment bank is not a new topic for the third sector, with the government already previously stating that funding for such a facility would be sourced from the Dormant Bank and Building Societies Accounts Act and targeted towards tackling issues such as youth work and social inclusion.

But the government’s tentative, ‘wait and see’ attitude to this eagerly anticipated initiative, demonstrated by a lack lustre pledge as part of the 2009 budget to carry out a consultation into how the social investment bank might operate if established, has angered third sector members, many of whom believe the bank should be formed as quickly as possible if it is to help those most in need during the current economic climate. 

Etherington claims the sector and the government should look for funding for the bank elsewhere and flagged up the Futurebuilders loan fund as an effective way of making savings and helping third sector organisations without “having to use new money”.  He also called for a substantial £50 million government investment in the bank, in order to attract other sources of capital.

Source: Third Sector

Family foundations and charitable trusts still going strong…

A new piece of research due to be released next month suggests that family foundations and trusts are thriving in the UK, despite the economic downturn.

The report, conducted by the Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy, notes that family foundation philanthropy accounts for giving worth almost £908 million a year in the UK and forms a significant part of non-statutory, private funding for British organisations.

The report, which also compared charitable foundation giving trends in other countries such as Italy and Germany, was keen to flag up what they termed the “international character” of many family trusts and suggested this may mean more scope for collaborations and fundraising opportunities between UK groups and their European counterparts in the future.

Source: Third Sector

New fund for young volunteers in Wales

The Welsh Assembly has opened a fund worth more than £400,000 to support youth volunteering and has promised to give young people a say on how it is spent.

The GwirVol Youth Volunteering Grants Scheme is provided by the Department for Social Justice and Local Government and administered by GwirVol, a diverse partnership of voluntary/community, public and private sector organisations that aims to promote, support and drive forward youth volunteering in Wales.

The programme is specifically designed for disadvantaged young people and is intended to encourage them to take up worthwhile volunteering posts. It is also hoped that the programme will support businesses and organisations to engage with young volunteers effectively.  A body entitled GwirForce, comprised of young volunteers from throughout Wales and supported by youth volunteer advisers from Welsh local authorities, will lead the grants programme and play a ‘hands on’ role.

The programme has two grant-making strands:

• ‘Opportunities’ project funding: grants of up to £10,000 for activities that will deliver a wide range of new and innovative volunteering experiences for young people aged 16 – 25.
• ‘Promotion’ project funding: grants of up to £5,000 to promote volunteering opportunities to and for young people aged 16 – 25, through events and workshops, websites, exhibitions or visits.

The closing date for applications is 30 June 2009.

For further information visit:

Gwirvol:  http://www.gwirvol.org/

Source: j4bCommunity, Welsh Assembly Government

New Standard Life Charitable Trust in pipeline…

Last week saw the announcement that Standard Life, an Edinburgh-based company that provides life assurance and pensions, investment management, banking and healthcare insurance products, will set up a charitable trust.

The Trust, which will source most of its funds from the company’s Unclaimed Assets Trust, rumoured to be worth roughly £70 million and due to expire in 2016, will be established with an initial investment of £5 million.

The announcement came as the company conducted their Annual General Meeting in Edinburgh last week and was hailed by Chair Gerry Grimstone as a way of ensuring that Standard Life remains “at the forefront of corporate responsibility and community investment”, despite a tumultuous year for the economy.

It is as of yet unknown when the Trust will begin to give out grants and what its main priorities will be.  A Board of Trustees will be set up shortly.

For further information visit:

http://www.standardlife.com/index.html

Source: Third Sector

Acevo website to bolster third sector during recession

Chief executive umbrella body, Acevo, have launched a new website that is specifically targeted at helping the third sector weather the current economic storm.

The easy to use site includes recession news, expert guides on everything from mergers to EU funding, information on relevant events and courses and handy links to useful organisations.

Visit today at: http://www.recessionsupport.org.uk/main/

Source: Acevo

Big response for Big Lottery…

The BIG Lottery Fund public consultation, launched in the autumn of 2008 to encourage members of the public and the voluntary sector to have their say on how lottery cash should be spent over the next six years, received a much higher response than was originally anticipated.

It has been estimated that almost 3,500 people from across the UK responded to the consultation and gave their views on what should be done with up to £2 billion of lottery money between now and 2015.

Unsurprisingly in such turbulent economic times, sustainability and the options and opportunities beyond the life of a lottery grant, were this year’s most hotly debated topics.

The consultation findings are currently being analysed and will be published in June.

For further information visit:

Big Lottery Fund:  http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/

Source: Big Lottery Fund

NCVO cash to attend party political conferences

Fancy attending one of the most important political events of the year and having your say?  Well, currently the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) are offering bursaries to small charitable organisations with an annual turnover of less than £500,000 so they can attend one of the three major party political conferences this autumn.

The scheme is intended to facilitate support and networking opportunities for small-scale registered charities and it is hoped it will allow local organisations to have their voices heard at a national level.

Places are available at the 2009 Labour, Conservative or Liberal Democrat Party Conferences.

Successful organisations will receive:

• Two-day conference pass: access to the conference for its duration, including access to the main conference site, fringe meetings and the conference hall.
• Accommodation: for one night.
• Travel: to and from the conference.
• Support and networking opportunities: NCVO will provide organisations with a wide range of support during the conference including a roundtable meeting with a senior Minister or MP, other meetings with key opinion formers, an introduction to party conferences, the facilitation of networking and attendance at fringe meetings.

The deadline for applications is 5 June 2009.

 For further information visit:

 NCVO:  http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/

 Source: j4bCommunity

£10 million grants programme to tackle discrimination and inequality

Last week saw the Equality and Human Rights Commission launch a new £10 million grants programme to help grassroots organisations continue their work to combat equality and discrimination despite the current economic downturn.

The Strategic Funding Programme, which builds on the Commission’s 2008-2009 interim grants programme, is intended to provide three-year project-based funding for community and voluntary sector organisations that are involved in directly serving their local communities. The Commission is particularly keen to fund activity that will meet an unmet need and has the potential to inspire longer-term work.  Work which can contribute towards strategic aims at a national level, as well as achieving an impact locally, will be prioritised.

The fund has two key priority areas:

• Priority One:  Providing guidance, advice and advocacy services, infrastructure development and capacity building.
• Priority Two:  Good relations.

UK registered charities, charitable bodies, not-for-profit companies and community-interest organisations are all eligible to apply and could receive up to £150,000 per year for three years.

The deadline for applications is 12 June 2009.

For further information visit:

Equality and Human Rights Commission:  http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/Pages/default.aspx

Strategic Funding Programme Press Release:  http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/newsandcomment/Pages/Commission-announces-£10-million-funding-programme-for-voluntary-and-community-sector.aspx

J4bCommunity:  http://www.j4bcommunity.co.uk

Source: j4bCommunity

Futurebuilders launch new service to encourage the Third Sector to work together

In a bid to help the struggling Third Sector weather the current economic storm, Futurebuilders have introduced a new service for voluntary groups, charities and social enterprises.

 Merge-maker is an online matchmaking programme for third sector organisations wishing to join forces with other like-minded groups, through mergers, collaborations or the forming of a consortium.

 New webpages on the Futurebuilders site will allow organisations undertaking public service contracts throughout England to post their details and advertise for the types of partners they would like to work with.  Organisations will be asked to provide information such as what service delivery area they work in, what region they service, and what sort of partner they are looking for.

Currently, Futurebuilders are looking for groups to register their initial interest in taking part in the scheme.

 For further information visit:

 Website:  http://www.futurebuilders-england.org.uk/news-and-events/futurebuilders-news/futurebuilders-to-launch-third-sector-%91match%11making%92-service/

 Press Release:  http://www.futurebuilders-england.org.uk/images/stories/press_releases/27.04.09__futurebuilders_to_launch_third_sector_match_making_service.doc

 

Source: Futurebuilders